Currently, the law takes into account only the marriage that has been formalized. The legislation does not consider spouses who have lived in a civil marriage as heirs to each other. When determining the volume of the estate, the official marital status of the testator is taken into account, and the share of the second spouse in joint property is excluded from it.
Joint property of spouses
From the moment of registration of an official marriage, all property acquired by the spouses is considered joint property, regardless of what real income each of them had. In this case, the joint property is divided between them in equal shares, even if one of them has never worked and has not made any material contribution to the jointly acquired property. The exceptions are cases when otherwise prescribed in the marriage contract, or when an agreement on the division of property was concluded between the spouses, or when the court decides that the other spouse did not receive income for an unjustified reason or handled joint property to the detriment of the interests of the family.
The estate of the deceased spouse includes all the property belonging to him before marriage, and his share in the acquired during marriage, in accordance with Article 1150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This inheritance also goes to his heirs, the second spouse is also among the heirs of the first stage.
The structure of the common property, in which each of the spouses owns half, includes the income of both spouses, including their pensions, benefits and other cash payments that do not have an agreed purpose. It also includes everything that is acquired from general income: things, real estate, securities, the amount of shares, deposits, shares in capital contributed to credit institutions or other commercial enterprises. Joint property includes any other property acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name it was acquired in, and with which of them the purchase and sale agreement was concluded.
Jointly acquired property does not include things or real estate received by the testator as a gift or by will, as well as things for individual use, except for jewelry, jewelry, luxury goods.
How the property of the deceased spouse is divided
After the separation of the share of the second spouse from the jointly acquired property, he is also included in the list of heirs and, according to the law, is the heir of the first stage, along with the children and parents of the deceased. The heirs of any line are called to inherit only if no will has been drawn up. If it exists, the distribution of the inheritance takes place in accordance with the will of the testator set forth in this document, taking into account the rule on the mandatory share in the inheritance. This rule applies to minor children, parents of the deceased and other dependent persons.
The share of the second spouse is determined by the notary conducting the inheritance case. In accordance with Art. 75 of the Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, he must issue the surviving spouse a certificate of the right to a share in the common property, confirming his right to half of the things and property rights listed in the certificate.
